Lunar days of hecate. Difficult birthday according to the lunar calendar

Hecate ruled over all ghosts and monsters, night visions and sorcery. She was born as a result of the marriage of the titan Persian and Asteria.
Hecate had three bodies joined together, six pairs of arms and three heads. Zeus - the king of the gods - endowed her with power over the fate of the earth and the sea, and Uranus endowed with indestructible strength.
The Greeks believed that Hecate wanders in deep darkness at night with his constant companions owls and snakes, lighting his path with smoldering torches.
She passed the graves with her terrible retinue, surrounded by monstrous dogs from the kingdom of Hades, living on the banks of the Styx. Hecate sent horrors and heavy dreams to earth and destroyed people.
Sometimes Hecate helped people, for example, it was she who helped Medea win Jason's love. It was believed that she helped sorcerers and sorcerers. The ancient Greeks believed: if you sacrifice dogs to Hecate, while standing at the crossroads of three roads, it will help remove the spell and save you from evil corruption.
Underground gods, like Hecate, personified mainly the formidable forces of nature.

Hecate - not dark, not black and does not represent the forces of evil and darkness.
Hecate personifies the process, the elemental force of destruction for the sake of creation, the force of renewal through death.

In ancient Greek mythology, a chthonic deity (Asia Minor origin), the patroness of all night evil spirits, witchcraft and divination. In literary sources, many other functions were also attributed to her, in connection with which Hecate was identified with the goddess of the moon Selena, the goddess of the underworld Persephone, the mistress of wild beasts by Artemis. She was depicted with a torch in her hands, often with snakes in her hair (sometimes three-faced).
Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Hecate (Ekath) - the Greeks have a moonlight deity. The cult of Hecate existed at first among the Thracians and from them has already passed to the Greeks. In the Theogony of Hesiod, where she is first mentioned, she is called the daughter of the titan Perseus; others call her the daughter of Zeus and Demeter or Zeus and Hera. Hecate bestows wisdom in popular gatherings, happiness in war, rich prey in the hunt, etc. As the goddess of the underworld, she was also considered the goddess of everything mysterious; the Greeks imagined it fluttering with the souls of the dead at the crossroads, where it was sometimes performed, therefore, its cult. She helps sorceresses, who, like Circe and Medea, learn their art from her. Hecate was sometimes depicted in the form of a single female figure with two torches in her hands, sometimes in the form of 3 figures connected with their backs.
W. Blake

Hecate - the goddess of darkness, witchcraft and mirages. Daughter of Persia and Asteria, granddaughter of the titans Koy and Kriya, mother of Skilla (father Forky). One of the most ancient and powerful goddesses, who rules in the kingdom of Hades over all ghosts and monsters. It had three bodies and three heads - a lion's, a dog's and a horse's. At the crossroads of three roads, dogs were sacrificed and then Hecate helped not only in witchcraft, but also against witchcraft. At a later time, Hecate began to act as a symbol of otherworldly forces.

Hecate - Greek name of the Anatolian and Thracian goddess, first mentioned by Hesiod (c. 700 BC). Nilsson, in The Greek Folk Religion, believes that the cult of Hecate comes from Caria; "This is confirmed by the fact that the personal names that include her name are often found in this area, while in other places they are rare or not known at all."

There are versions that in the early Hellenic history, Hecate was a completely virtuous goddess associated with the Moon. Then the Greeks, who brought patriarchal order, ousted the goddess and she became formidable and terrible for them. Nevertheless, from Zeus, Hecate received power over the fate of the earth and the sea, and from Uranus (grandfather) she got great power.

So in ancient times, Hecate patronized hunting, shepherding, horse breeding, guarded children and youths, granted victory in competitions, in court, in war. Later, with the strengthening of the cults of Hermes, Artemis and Apollo, her influence declines, or rather changes. Its attributes are a key, a whip, a dagger and a torch.

In the classical era, Hecate became the goddess of the moon, night and the underworld. More often she was portrayed with a torch in her hand. Statues of Hecate were placed at crossroads to guard against evil. At the same time, it was she who was blamed for the madness and the appearance of ghosts. Even later, Hecate becomes the patroness of witchcraft and the progenitor of all sorceresses. She was responsible for the madness comprehending people, insanity or obsession with any idea. At the same time, she could protect against evil demons and witchcraft.

In Rome, Hecate was compared with the goddess Trivia - "the goddess of the three roads."

DAYS OF HECATE

The so-called satanic days before the new moon, days of Hecate are in fact days of revision of motives. We live in certain cycles. The most important points of these cycles were considered to be the days before the winter solstice and before the new moon. At this time, a person should fast, limit external contacts. He must go deep into himself and settle with the previous cycle. Today we perceive the days of Hecate (everyone knows the 29th lunar day) as satanic, which means harmful. In fact, these are the days of cleansing, parting with the mistakes that we have done in these 29 days.
They are the most beneficial for the human soul.

Hecate, or the other side of the moon , was a very important woman. She took revenge on all who prematurely invaded the supermundane world. All those unprepared, who, without a teacher, without tradition, outside orders and ahead of time, were eager for esotericism, Hecate drove mad. The man who passed through the Gate, being unprepared, returned from there half-witted.

There are lunar days in which amazing people are born - people with the power of the Goddess Hecate

Hecate in ancient Greek mythology is the patroness of the underworld, the ruler of the Black Moon. There are two moons. They are believed to exist, but are not visible to the human eye. One of them is White. It orbits the Earth in 28 days. Brings good luck, prosperity, blessing, joy. The Black Moon orbits the Earth in 29 days. And brings retribution. In Indian mythology, Hecate corresponds to the Goddess Kali - the Goddess of time, destruction and transformation. The long period of time in which our lives also fell is called Kali Yuga, i.e. it is Kali (Hecate) who patronizes him. The White Moon is a symbol of a woman-hostess, whose tables are bursting with food, healthy and happy children are busy, and the house is entwined with grapes. In a word, a woman who creates a simple and beautiful earthly happiness. This woman becomes the Black Moon when her children and respectable home are in danger and she turns into a protector. The main task of Hecate is to protect the house entwined with grapes from the dark forces. It is believed that Hecate can destroy the ghosts of the night, vampires and even demons.

Louthese days in which power passes to Hecate -

People born on these days are endowed with the gift of Hecate. What does it mean? In their presence, everything disintegrates and disintegrates. They are not to blame for this. This is their space program. But at the same time, the true necessarily grows with tenfold strength, and the false dies forever. "Hecates" are a kind of bulldozers that are clearing new grounds for new flower beds in the Universe. People born on 9, 15, 23, 29 lunar days are ecstatic. It costs them nothing to run out into the winter cold into the snow barefoot or throw themselves into a thunderstorm from a cliff into a raging sea in order to experience a state when the spirit is captured by the feeling of their own strength and unity with the elements.

Should you be afraid of Hecate? No. In no case. They are saviors. They can stop a fight, help out a person, intervene in a situation in which neither the police nor professional rescuers will risk finding themselves. You can rely on them. Hecates are betrayed to death by those they love. We can say that they are loyal to friends and loved ones. But not everyone understands this devotion and loyalty correctly. God gave them the opportunity to do eccentric things. If God sent you your beloved woman - Hecate, then by giving her infinite love, you will receive from her energy that can take you to the very top of possible and impossible success for you. She will not be embarrassed by difficulties if she feels loved. She will overcome them and will be your closest and sincere adviser, friend. It is no small fortune to have a beloved or beloved person born on the lunar day of Hecate. You just need to trust them very much to allow their energy to eliminate all unnecessary, alien from your life together. No one like Hecate will separate the “grain from the chaff”.
There is hardly another day when such people who bring true, cosmic luck are born.

"Hecates" will allow you to write a novel of your married life together on a clean sheet, where not a single stain of dirt will be left. If "Hecate" appears at the enterprise, then soon it may collapse. But only if the management is engaged in "unclean" deeds. If the management puts its soul into the development of the enterprise, then after the appearance of Hecate, it can increase its turnover several dozen times. So, honest entrepreneurs, hire Hecate!

After its birth, as a Heavenly body, the Moon (Spirit of the Moon), carried in itself the First Aspects of the Mother of the World. Their carriers were two Goddesses, from the Pantheon of Goddesses of the Mother of the World: Selene and Hecate. But after the rebellion against the Creator, led by the First Archon and the fallen co-creator Vallaum, the Goddess Hecate betrayed the Creator and the Mother of the World and took the side of the forces of darkness. Since then, the Moon has been divided into two almost equal halves: one of them, in the person of the Goddess Selena, carried Light, Love and Good, and the other, in the person of the fallen Goddess Hecate, carried darkness, evil and destruction. The well-known "Days of Hecate" were distinguished by a particularly strong destructive influence on the Earth and people.

By the way, it was after this that the Lunar Cataclysm occurred, as a result of which the main elements of the lunar orbit changed. So, in particular, it was thrown into an orbit more distant from the Earth at a distance of 380 thousand kilometers (initially it was at a distance of 333 333 km). The force of lunar gravity and speed of rotation around its axis and around the Earth also changed. After that, only one side of the Moon became visible from the Earth (before that, the entire surface of the Moon could be cyclically observed from the Earth). Since then, these sides began to be called: dark and light. The dark forces began to actively use the powerful energy potential of the Moon as a means of enslaving and controlling women and the entire Feminine Principle, as well as a means of destructive influence on the Earth.

Hecate is not dark, not black and does not represent the forces of evil and darkness.
Hecate personifies the process, the elemental force of destruction for the sake of creation, the force of renewal through death.

The so-called satanic days before the new moon, the days of Hecate, are actually days of revision of motives. We live in certain cycles. The most important points of these cycles were considered to be the days before the winter solstice and before the new moon. At this time, a person should fast, limit external contacts. He must go deep into himself and settle with the previous cycle. Today we perceive the days of Hecate (everyone knows the 29th lunar day) as satanic, which means harmful. In fact, these are the days of cleansing, parting with the mistakes that we have done in these 29 days.
They are the most beneficial for the human soul.

Hecate, or the other side of the moon, was a very important woman. She took revenge on all who prematurely invaded the supermundane world. All those who were not ready, who, without a teacher, without tradition, outside the orders and ahead of time, were eager for esotericism, Hecate drove mad. The man who passed through the Gate, not ready, returned from there crazy.

There are lunar days in which amazing people are born - people with the power of the Goddess Hecate

Hecate in ancient Greek mythology is the patroness of the underworld, the ruler of the Black Moon. There are two moons. They are believed to exist, but are not visible to the human eye. One of them is White. It orbits the Earth in 28 days. Brings good luck, prosperity, blessing, joy. The Black Moon orbits the Earth in 29 days. And brings retribution. In Indian mythology, Hecate corresponds to the Goddess Kali - the Goddess of time, destruction and transformation. The long period of time in which our lives also fell is called Kali Yuga, i.e. it is Kali (Hecate) who patronizes him. The White Moon is a symbol of a woman-hostess, whose tables are bursting with food, healthy and happy children are busy, and the house is entwined with grapes. In a word, a woman who creates a simple and beautiful earthly happiness. This woman becomes the Black Moon when her children and respectable home are in danger and she turns into a protector. The main task of Hecate is to protect the house, entwined with grapes, from the dark forces. It is believed that Hecate can destroy the ghosts of the night, vampires and even demons.

Lunar days, in which power passes to Hecate - 9, 15, 23, 29

Should you be afraid of Hecate? No. In no case. They are saviors. They can stop a fight, help out a person, intervene in a situation in which neither the police nor professional rescuers will risk. You can rely on them. Hecates are betrayed to death by those they love. We can say that they are loyal to friends and loved ones. But not everyone understands this devotion and loyalty correctly. God gave them the opportunity to do eccentric things. If God sent you your beloved woman - Hecate, then by giving her infinite love, you will receive from her energy that can take you to the very top of possible and impossible success for you. She will not be embarrassed by difficulties if she feels loved. She will overcome them and will be your closest and sincere adviser, friend. It is no small fortune to have a beloved or beloved person born on the lunar day of Hecate. You just need to trust them very much to allow their energy to eliminate all unnecessary, alien from your life together. No one like Hecate will separate the “grain from the chaff”.
There is hardly another day when such people who bring true, cosmic luck are born.

Summoning Hecate

Call Hecate on one of her days - 9, 15, 23, 29, as well as two days before the new moon and within two days after. “Come, underground, earthly and heavenly goddess Hecate, goddess of roads and crossroads, bringing air, walking at night, supportive of the night and accompanying it, rejoicing at the barking of dogs, wandering in the darkness with a wandering fire among the graves, terrifying the dead. Gore, Mor-mo, Bom-Bo, Moon of a thousand faces, come to us, Great Hecate. " If you call her with a pure heart, all desires can be fulfilled.
"New Interesting Newspaper"

The days when the Moon disappears from the firmament have always given themselves over to a certain gloomy mystical meaning. The ancient astrologers called them days of Hecate, named after the Greek goddess of mysteries and the underworld.

However, one should not equate the days of Hecate with the so-called Satanic days, which fall on those lunar days when the Moon passes from phase to phase. According to modern astrologers, the days of Hecate today are considered first two and last two days of the lunar month, it is on these days that the Moon crosses the 30-degree line from the point of the new moon.

Thus, the penultimate day of the lunar cycle can be considered the first day of Hecate. Traditionally, it is associated with the element of Air, which means that on this day people may experience problems with communication.

The next, second day of Hecate refers to the element of Fire. On this day, in ancient times, the priests lit sacrificial fires at the forks of three roads. This was done in order to appease the harsh goddess, and save people from the forces of darkness sent by her.

The first day of the new moon falls on the third day of Hecate. Any birth is painful for a person, including the lunar one. On this day, you need to make every effort to adequately meet the new lunar month.

The last, fourth day of Hecate, which is the second day of the new moon, is associated with Water. People on this day show increased sensitivity and a tendency to empathy, that is, they become especially susceptible, vulnerable and touchy.

Born in the days of Hecate

People who were born in the days of Hecate, from birth are endowed with a special gift of the goddess, and this gift is not entirely unclouded. Wherever they appear, they always bring chaos and destruction with them, this is their karmic task. However, there is an obvious plus in this - everything false and illusory is destroyed, and the seeds of true feelings or relationships sprout from the resulting chaos. Such people act as a kind of bulldozers who clear a place for creating something new and beautiful.

Hecate's wards often behave very eccentric, they love to play with their fate and even with death itself. For them, it is in the order of things to run barefoot in the cold, or throw themselves into the raging sea from a high cliff. They commit such acts in order to feel the incredible power of connection with the Elements, even if this ecstasy lasts for a few moments.

Hecate should not be ignored, quite the opposite, it is important to remember that these people can become saviors for many. It is they who are capable of rushing headlong into the thick of the fight, protecting the weak, or entering a burning house when even professionals would not dare to do so.

There is no person more faithful and devoted than one born in the days of Hecate. If this is a woman, then in response to your love, she will give you tremendous energy, for the fulfillment of all the most daring plans and the realization of the most insane fantasies. She will always be there and will not be afraid of any difficulties if she feels loved and desired. It is only important to listen to her wise advice and not reject the offered help. In general, having a friend or lover born under the auspices of Hecate is a great success. The main thing is not to resist their destructive power, but to calmly observe the events. You will see that after the collapse of everything that seems to be the most important, only that which truly deserves attention and further efforts will remain in your life. To become an object for applying the energy of such a person is truly a cosmic luck, so you should not grumble, if your usual way of life has collapsed, real Success will soon come to you.

If you decide to link your fate with Hecate's man, your novel will certainly be written from scratch. All the past will be mercilessly erased from him. If "Hecate" gets a job, the company may soon begin to experience great difficulties, and only correct, honest and reasonable management will help not only save the situation, but also bring the business to a new, higher level. That is why, all honest and active entrepreneurs need Hecate's people like air; without them, the path to success will be, albeit calmer, but as long as possible.

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Days of the Black Moon - days of Hecate: how to protect yourself and benefit from the dark period?

Have you noticed bouts of uncontrollable negativity? Or the feeling that things are going awry? Or maybe it happens that you are ready for no reason, you can break loose and shout at a negligent colleague for a seemingly insignificant offense? Or falling out with your best friend over a trifle? If so, then you are one of those who are very sensitive to the cycles of the moon. And I'm talking now not only about women, but also about men. Yes, dear men, you may also be subject to the cycles of the moon.

What do the Days of Hecate mean?

In astrology there is such a phenomenon as Lunar cycles. They begin and end on certain days, the so-called days of the Black Moon or - these are two days before and two days after the New Moon of each month ( 28, 29 and 2, 3 lunar days). These are the most difficult days of the lunar cycle.

Hecate is the ancient Greek goddess of moonlight, dark witchcraft, forbidden knowledge, poisons, witchcraft and the other world. And, as a symbol of everything unknown, she found personification in the opposite side of the moon, which is inaccessible to human eyes. According to legend, only a few days a month she can completely control the moon, and this time is considered dangerous and difficult.

The days of Hecate are characterized by an increased nervous state of people, deterioration of their psychological and vital assets. At this time, our dark subconscious is activated, which is why there are so many cases of uncontrolled outbursts of rage, conflicts between people become more frequent.

At this time, weakness, emotional instability, fatigue increase, the depressive, depressed state increases. Astrologers recommend at this time to try to give up heavy loads and not make important decisions.

It may seem surprising, but men react most sharply to the days of Hecate. They withdraw into themselves, become unyielding, conflicting, they are overcome by dark thoughts and in some cases they can become aggressive.

For example, the Days of Hecate are very good at helping you get things done. It is believed that cases completed at this time, especially very complex ones, will end most favorably. The days of Hecate help to clear the mind, free oneself from the unnecessary burden of emotions, and better understand and accept oneself. This time is very successful for fasting days, fasting. And the second and third lunar day is the best time to start dieting and get rid of bad habits. A person in the days of Hecate is freed both at the physiological and at the energy level from excess husk.

Gifts of Hecate

People born on these days are considered endowed with the gift of Hecate. Such people have an unusually strong intuition, they often reveal in themselves a gift for extrasensory perception. People born in the days of Hecate have tremendous energy, their inner strength can both help and destroy. Such people from childhood feel their calling. They have incredible charisma and magnetism.

Such people have a rather complex character, it is not easy to find an approach to them, but if you were already able to win his trust and love, be sure that this person will follow you into fire and water. More loyal friends, more loyal lovers are hard to imagine. If such a person loves, then he will carry this feeling through the years, and will remain faithful to his chosen one to the end.

How to make Hecate's days successful?

Finally, let me give you some small practical advice that will help you to get through this difficult period most painlessly:

- Try not to start new business, do not sign new documents.
- Try not to borrow or lend, do not issue loans and other debt obligations.
- Do not give in to negative emotions, do not get fooled by provocations from the outside.
- Do not commit rash acts, do not make impulsive decisions.
- If you feel that you are ready to break loose, do a simple technique of breathing energy gymnastics: close your eyes, take 5-7 deep breaths, concentrate on the sensations of warm air penetrating into the chest, imagine how this warmth starts from the lungs and expands with each breath until does not cover the whole body. Remain warm for a few seconds. Exhale deeply. All! You are ready for new challenges!

May the Dark Days of the Moon bring you only good!

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Hecate is my favorite goddess. Most of the information about her I have been collecting bit by bit over time.

Hecate - Greek name of the Anatolian and Thracian goddess, first mentioned by Hesiod (c. 700 BC). Nilsson in The Greek Folk Religion believes that the cult of Hecate comes from Caria; "This is confirmed by the fact that the personal names, which include her name, are often found in this particular area, while elsewhere they are rare or not known at all." There are versions that in the early Hellenic history, Hecate was a completely virtuous goddess associated with the Moon. Then the Greeks, who brought patriarchal order, ousted the goddess and she became formidable and terrible for them.

Hecate in Ancient Greece was a special goddess, she was considered the patroness of darkness, nightmares and sorcery. It is no coincidence that the Greeks themselves worshiped her, as it were, secretly from themselves. She was a "chthonic" goddess, inherited from the "war of the gods" - the "pre-Olympic" period in the culture of the Greeks (before the victory and ascension of Zeus to Mount Olympus). But her power was so overwhelming that she entered a new pantheon, and the Greeks knew that she was "eternal as night."

According to myths, Hecate is the daughter of the titan Persian (which, along with other details, betrays her eastern origin), and in her name there is an ancient female root "Ge" (compare Gaia, Hera and Hecate). Loving Zeus gave her power over the fate of the earth and the sea, and Poseidon gave her great power. Hecate was three-faced, that is, it had three hypostases (like Morena among the Slavs).

Day Face of Hecate: patroness of hunting, shepherding, youth, social activities such as meetings, competitions, judicial pleadings and military achievements. Fight for the fight. Here she presented herself as a middle-aged woman, an experienced and wise counselor of people (Morena, “Marya the Artist”).

Night Face of Hecate: patroness of darkness, night, nightmares, revenge, debauchery and witchcraft. Beautiful and frightening appearance, snakes in hair. She is a hunter (like the maiden Artemis - Apollo's sister and warrior), but her hunt is dark, nocturnal, and her pack of hounds flees among the graves and ghosts. It was in this incarnation of hers that she helped Medea in the preparation of potions. Rejected lovers and murderers prayed to her. She inspired how to prepare decoctions for love spells and poisons ("Marya the libertine").

The third face of Hecate: heavenly, "Urania Hecate" - irresistible spiritual love. She is young and beautiful with that heavenly beauty that does not evoke carnal desires, but only admiration and delight. In this guise, Hecate helps philosophers, scientists, "leads the souls" of people from the Kingdom of the dead to light and love ("Marya ascetic").

It was believed that Hecate was the patroness of all heterosexuals: women-friends specially trained in Greek culture (please do not confuse with banal prostitutes - read “Thais of Athens” by I. Efremov), in contrast to women-wives, who were patronized by Hera.

In the image of Hecate one can feel the intertwining of the ideas of the proto-Aryan peoples, connecting two worlds: the living and the dead ("reality" and "nav" of the Slavs). She is both darkness and light at the same time. The images were placed at the crossroads of three roads. In the Roman period, Hecate was called Trivia ("three-faced"). There were temples in honor of only one of the hypostases of Hecate, since it is difficult for an ordinary person to realize the trinity of any god in general.

Hecate possesses devilish powers, she roams the Earth at night with a pack of hellish red-eyed dogs from hell and with a retinue of souls of the dead. Only dogs can see her, and if the dogs howl at night, it means that Hecate is nearby. She causes nightmares and madness, terrifies. Many ancients called her "Nameless".

She is the goddess of darkness on the moon, the destroyer of life, but also revives life. In one myth, she turns into a bear or wild boar and kills her own son, then revives him. As a secret power, she wears a necklace of testicles, her hair is writhing snakes that turn to stone in a similar way to Medusa the Gorgon.

Hecate is the goddess of all crossroads, she looks in three directions at once. In ancient times, her three-headed statues were erected at many intersections, and secret rituals were performed during the full moon to appease her. Statues of Hecate with torches and swords were placed in front of houses to keep evil spirits at bay. Hecate is associated with many spells, sacrifices and rituals. In ancient times, people tried to appease her by leaving the hearts of chickens and honey cakes and pepper with their doors. On the last day of the month, gifts were brought to the crossroads - honey, onions, fish and eggs, with sacrifices in the form of dolls, baby girls and female lambs. Sorcerers gathered at intersections to pay their respects to her and such devilish servants as Empusa, the brownie; Cecropsis, poltergeist; and Mormo, the vampire. One appeal to her was recorded in the III century by Hippolytus in Philosophumena:

“Come, hellish, earthly and heavenly Bombo (Hecate), goddess of wide roads, crossroads, you who travels here and there at night with a torch in hand, enemy of the day. Friend and beloved of darkness, you who rejoice when bitches howl and warm blood flows, you who wander among ghosts and graves, you who satisfy the thirst for blood, you who cause fear in the mortal souls of children, Gorgo, Mormo, Luna, in a thousand species, cast your merciful gaze upon our sacrifice ”

In modern witchcraft, Hecate is often associated with the lunar trinity, the triple Goddess. She commands the waning and dark moon, in a two-week period, the best for magic; which deals with exile, liberation, designs and introspection. She calls for justice.

She received power over the fate of the earth and the sea from Zeus, and was endowed with great power by Uranus. Hecate is an ancient chthonic deity who, after defeating the Titans, retained its archaic functions, was even deeply revered by Zeus himself, joining the number of gods who help people in their daily work. She is the giver of materin's well-being, helps the birth and education of children; gives travelers an easy road; helps abandoned lovers. Her powers, thus, once extended to those areas of human activity, which later she had to yield to Apollo, Artemis, Hermes.

As the cult of these gods spreads, Hecate loses its attractive appearance and attractive features. She leaves the upper world and, drawing closer to Persephone, whom she helped to look for her mother, is inextricably linked with the kingdom of shadows. Now this is an ominous serpentine and three-faced goddess, appearing on the surface of the earth only in the moonlight, and not in the sunlight, with two flaming torches in her hands, accompanied by black dogs and monsters of the underworld. Hecate - nocturnal “chthonia” and heavenly “urania”, “irresistible” wanders among the graves and brings out the ghosts of the dead, sends horrors and terrible dreams, but can also protect from them, from evil demons and witchcraft. Among her constant companions were the donkey monster Empusa, capable of changing shape and frightening belated travelers, as well as the demon-spirits of Kera. This is how the goddess is represented on the monuments of fine art starting from the 5th century. BC

In ancient Greece, the number "3" was inextricably linked with the goddess Hecate. She had three guises (or even three bodies) - a mare, a dog, and a lion - and had three heads to see in all directions. Hecate ruled over the triad of human existence - birth, life and death - and the three elements - earth, air and fire.

The three whips of power with which she ruled over humanity, time and space, made her an indispensable ally of wizards who sought to find means of changing the seemingly unchanging physical world. Those brave enough to cast her name in their spells were rewarded with a portion of her eerie supernatural power.

Its power extended over a three-part time domain - past, present and future. The goddess drew her witchcraft power from the moon, which has three phases - new, full and old. Like Artemis, she was accompanied by a pack of dogs everywhere, but Hecate's hunt is a night hunt among the dead, graves and the ghosts of the underworld. Food and dogs were sacrificed to Hecate, her attributes were a torch, a scourge and snakes

It has long been dedicated to Hecate certain days of the month. Some information about them:

The so-called Satanic days before the new moon - the days of Hecate - are actually days of revision of motives. We live in certain cycles. The most important points of these cycles were considered before the days before the winter solstice and before the new moon. At this time, a person should fast, limit external contacts. He must go deep into himself and settle with the previous cycle. Today we perceive the days of Hecate (everyone knows the 29th lunar day) as satanic, which means harmful. In fact, these are the days of cleansing, parting with the mistakes that we have done in these 29 days. They are the most beneficial for the human soul.

Hecate, or the other side of the moon, was a very important woman. She took revenge on all who prematurely invaded the supermundane world. All those who were not ready, who, without a teacher, without tradition, outside the orders and ahead of time, were eager for esotericism, Hecate drove mad. A person who passed through the Gate, not ready, returned from there crazy. There are lunar days on which amazing people are born - people with the power of the Goddess Hecate.

Hecate in ancient Greek mythology is the patroness of the underworld, the ruler of the Black Moon. There are two moons. They are believed to exist, but are not visible to the human eye. One of them is White. It orbits the Earth in 28 days. Brings good luck, prosperity, blessing, joy. The Black Moon orbits the Earth in 29 days. And brings retribution. In Indian mythology, Hecate corresponds to the Goddess Kali - the Goddess of time, destruction and transformation. The long period of time in which our lives also fell is called Kali Yuga, i.e. it is Kali (Hecate) who patronizes him. The White Moon is a symbol of a woman-hostess, whose tables are bursting with food, healthy and happy children are busy, and the house is entwined with grapes. In a word, a woman who creates a simple and beautiful earthly happiness. This woman becomes the Black Moon when her children and respectable home are in danger and she turns into a protector. The main task of Hecate is to protect the house, entwined with grapes, from the dark forces. It is believed that Hecate can destroy the ghosts of the night, vampires and even demons. So, the lunar days, on which the power passes to Hecate - 9, 15, 23, 29 .

Born in the days of Hecate

- are of a certain psychological type:

People born on these days are endowed with the gift of Hecate. What does it mean? In their presence, everything disintegrates and disintegrates. They are not to blame for this. This is their space program. But at the same time, the true necessarily grows with tenfold strength, and the false dies forever. "Hecates" are a kind of bulldozers that are clearing new grounds for new flower beds in the Universe. People born in 9, 15, 23, 29 lunar days, ecstatic. It costs them nothing to run out into the winter cold into the snow barefoot or throw themselves into a thunderstorm from a cliff into a raging sea to experience a state when the spirit is captured by the feeling of their own strength and unity with the elements.

Is Hecate afraid? No. In no case. They are saviors. They can stop a fight, help out a person, intervene in a situation in which neither the police nor professional rescuers risk finding themselves. You can rely on them. Hecates are betrayed to death by those they love. We can say that they are loyal to friends and loved ones. But not everyone understands this devotion and loyalty correctly. God gave them the opportunity to do eccentric things. If God sent you your beloved woman - Hecate, then by giving her infinite love, you will receive from her energy that can take you to the very top of the possible impossible success for you. She will not be embarrassed by difficulties if she feels loved. She will overcome them and will be your closest and sincere adviser, friend. It is no small fortune to have a beloved or beloved person born on the lunar day of Hecate. You just need to trust them very much to allow their energy to eliminate all unnecessary, alien from your life together. No one, like Hecate, will separate the “grain from the chaff”. And there is hardly another day when such people who bring true, cosmic luck are born. "Hecates" will allow you to write a novel of your married life on a clean sheet, where they will not leave a single spot of dirt.

"Hecate" in business and work:

If "Hecate" appears at the enterprise, then soon it may collapse. But only if the management is engaged in "unclean" deeds. If the management puts its soul into the development of the enterprise, then after the appearance of Hecate, it can increase its turnover several dozen times. So, honest entrepreneurs, hire Hecate.

Calling Hecate:

Summon Hecate one of her days - 9, 15, 23, 29 , and also two days before the new moon and within two days after.

“Come, underground, earthly and heavenly goddess Hecate, goddess of roads and crossroads, bringing air, walking at night, supportive of the night and accompanying it, rejoicing at the barking of dogs, wandering in the darkness with a wandering fire among the graves, terrifying the dead. Gore, Mor-mo, Bom-Bo, Moon of a thousand faces, come to us, Great Hecate. " If you call her with a pure heart, you can fulfill all your desires.

On the lasso, we also see the astrological sign of Venus. The influence of this planet is already described in the lasso Symbol of the planetary spirit of Venus-Hagit.

And more about the Goddess. History

Hecate is the Greek name for the Anatolian and Thracian goddess, first mentioned by Hesiod (c. 700 BC). Nilsson, in The Greek Folk Religion, believes that the cult of Hecate comes from Caria; "This is confirmed by the fact that the personal names that include her name are often found in this area, while in other places they are rare or not known at all."

She also gave birth to the blessed Asteria,
Perse once brought her into his palace, calling her wife.
This, conceiving, gave birth to Hecate - her before all
Zeus distinguished the Thunderer and bestowed a glorious lot on her:
To rule the fate of the land and the barren desert sea.

She was given an honorable destiny by stellar Uranus,
The immortal gods worship her most of all.
For even now, when one of the earthly people,
Bringing his sacrifices according to the law, prays for mercy,
Then he calls on Hecate: he receives a great honor
It is very easy, since his prayer was received favorably.
The goddess also sends wealth to him: her strength is great.
Hecate has a share in every honorable destiny
Those who were born from Gaia-Earth and from Heaven-Uranus,
Kronid did not abuse her and did not take her back,

What the goddess received from the Titans, from the former gods.
Everything remained behind her, that during the first partition
It fell to her from gifts on earth, and in heaven, and in the sea.
She receives no less honor, as a single daughter, -
Even more: she is deeply honored by Kronid.
The goddess brings great benefits to whom she wishes.
If he wants, in the assembly of the people he will magnify anyone among all.
If people are equipped for a destructive battle,
Stands next to those Hecate, whom he wishes
Give a favorable victory and adorn the name with glory.

A goddess sits near worthy kings at the trial.
She is very useful, and when people compete:
The goddess stands next to them and gives them help.
Whoever wins with power and strength receives a reward,
Rejoicing in his heart, he brings glory to his parents.
She also gives the horsemen help when she wishes,
Also to those who, among the blue, destructive waves, trade,
He will pray to Hecate and the noisy Ennosigeus.
She gives a lot of prey very easily on the hunt,
Very easily, if he wants to, he will show it - and take it away.

Together with Hermes, she multiplies cattle in the barnyards;
A herd of grazing goats or steep-horned cows,
A flock of lush-fleece sheep, desiring a soul, she can
Make the smallest great, the great - small.
So, - although the mother's only daughter, - still
Among the immortal gods she is honored with every honor.
Zeus entrusted her with the care of children who will see
After the goddess Hecate, the rising of the many-seeing Eos.
From time immemorial she has kept her youth. These are all the destinies of the goddess.
(Hesiod. Theogony)

So in ancient times, Hecate patronized hunting, shepherding, horse breeding, guarded children and youths, granted victory in competitions, in court, in war. Later, with the strengthening of the cults of Hermes, Artemis and Apollo, her influence declines, or rather changes. Key, whip, dagger and torch become its attributes. (The details of the meaning of these attributes are unknown to us. In any case, I did not find them.)

Homer, oddly enough, does not mention Hecate. Perhaps this is due to the fact that her cult was more "female, folk" than "palace". Rather, simple (and not only common) women glorified her, gathering for their holidays or other gatherings. However, Hecate is mentioned in Homeric hymns (as you know, referring to the era of Homer, and not compiled by him at all). There she is close to Demeter and Persephone, but does not play an exceptional role. Subsequently, the cult of Hecate became especially popular with the Orphic mystics. She was also brought closer to the goddesses, one way or another associated with the mysteries (Rhea, Cybele, Persephone, Demeter).

In the classical era, Hecate became the goddess of the moon, night and the underworld. More often she was portrayed with a torch in her hand. Statues of Hecate were placed at crossroads to protect from evil. At the same time, it was she who was blamed for the madness and the appearance of ghosts. Even later, Hecate becomes the patroness of witchcraft and the progenitor of all sorceresses. She was responsible for the madness comprehending people, insanity or obsession with any idea. At the same time, she could protect against evil demons and witchcraft.
In Rome, Hecate was compared with the goddess Trivia - "the goddess of the three roads."

Pedigree.

She was called Enodia ... According to Apollodorus, Hecate was the daughter of the titans Persus and Asteria. Asteria was the sister of Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. The parents of both were titans Kei and Phoebe. Persian was born of Kriya and Eurybia, daughter of Pontus. (The latter was apparently a sea titan, the personification of the sea.)

Asteria, the mother of Hecate, was sexually persecuted by Zeus, like her sister Leto. But Asteria took the form of a quail, just to get rid of the annoying seducer. By her name (according to the same Apollodorus) - Asteria - the city of Delos was originally named. It was in this city that Asteria's sister Leto was finally able to stop and give birth from the same Zeus to the twins Artemis and Apollo.

Servius, in his comments to Virgil's Aeneid, says that Asteria herself begged the gods to turn her into a quail. And when she did, in the form of a bird, crossed the sea, vengeful Zeus turned her into a rock, which, at the request of her sister Leto, another concubine of Zeus, became an island. Most likely, Asteria had already managed to give birth to Hecate from the titan Persian, otherwise how could this have happened to a rock or an island? .. It is not surprising that after what happened to her mother and aunt, Hecate did not particularly associate with men, and in addition appropriated herself (Zeus had only to agree) the exclusive right to roam all over the worlds as and when she wants.

Hecate was considered the mother of Empusa - a monster that takes the form of a wonderful maiden at night, carrying away travelers or a terrible ghost. Empusa's face is glowing with heat, and one leg is copper. Another monster was believed to be the daughter of Hecate - Scylla (Skilla).

Myths and plots

The most famous plot: Hecate helps Demeter to find her kidnapped daughter - Persephone. The only one, she comes to the aid of the unfortunate goddess. Her sympathy is not surprising. From her family history, we know that her mother died because of Zeus's indefatigable voluptuousness, and her aunt gave in. It was Hecate who could be the patroness of offended, humiliated and offended women of the patriarchal Greek society. This is the Terrible and omnipotent Mother who will punish the offenders, send madness, misfortune or something else on them. It is enough just to conduct a certain witchcraft ceremony.

Hecate also helps the sorceress Medea to achieve Jason's love. However, here she is the fate of enamored sorceresses who are trying to win love with their charms - Jason left her. This is even unfair, because it was Medea who saved him, rescued him and went to crimes against her family and country for the sake of her beloved. But that's how it happens. For Jason, Medea was only a tool for completing the quest.

The sorceress Circe (Kirka) was considered the priestess of Hecate. She turned the men who came to her island into different animals. Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, managed to resist her charms, seduce the sorceress and live with her for three years.

Perhaps Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, who became a servant of the "local" Artemis in Taurida, in fact turned out to be a priestess of Hecate. They were going to sacrifice her, but the goddess changed the girl for an animal. The overall plot is similar to the "classic" plot of Hecate (see about Hecuba below).
The goddess Electra from Samothrace, who initiated the Argonauts into her mysteries, was considered to be none other than Hecate (Apollonius, Argonautics, I, 915-917).

In later myths, Hecate turns out to be the daughter of Zeus and Hera, who aroused her mother's rage for helping Europe, one of Zeus's lovers. Hecate hides at first on the ground at the bedside of the woman in labor. Then Hecate goes to Hades and dwells there.

In one myth, Hecate transforms into a bear or wild boar and kills his own son, then revives him. Possessing a secret power, she wears a necklace of testicles, her hair is writhing snakes that turn into stone like Medusa - the Gorgon.

Triple goddess

Hecate is characterized by its triplicity. Her statues were three-body, depicting three identical mature women, looking at three sides and holding torches, snakes (or whips) and daggers in their hands. Such statues of Hecate were placed at intersections.

Some believe that the three bodies of Hecate symbolize her three hypostases as the goddess of fertility and abundance, the goddess of the moon and the goddess of witchcraft and darkness. However, it is difficult to compare this interpretation with the attributes of the goddess depicted in antiquity.

However, Hecate was closely associated with two other goddesses - Demeter, the goddess of fertility, and her daughter Persephone (Cora), the goddess of the Underworld. Hecate acted as an assistant to both in the dark affairs associated with the darkness of the night.

It is sometimes believed that she had three guises - a mare, a lion's dog. And also rules the triad of human existence - birth, life and death and time - past, present and future. It is more likely that its threefold nature was primarily associated with the three states of the moon - the waxing moon, the full moon and the waning moon.

In our time, she is credited with the "three whips of power" by which she controls humanity. However, in the images she always has two whips (sometimes replaced by snakes) in two hands. The other two bodies are holding other objects. Being depicted in one body, the goddess more often held torches than whips (and she had only two hands).

Lunar Triad: Artemis - Selene - Hecate

Hecate presented herself as the "occult sister" of Artemis. They have a similar character and some attributes. Both the one and the other are worn along the same paths and roads led by her. Both do not have a husband who constrains their freedom. Both are accompanied by dogs. Both patronize women in trouble.

The lunar triad represents Hecate as a "virgin" goddess. The virgin goddesses today are associated with the inner pressure in women. They tend to follow their own interests, solve problems on their own, compete with others, express themselves clearly through words or art forms, put the world around them in order, or lead a contemplative life to their liking. Such a goddess (and a woman with similar qualities) is driven by the need to follow her inner values, to do what makes sense or satisfies her, regardless of what other people think. All this fully applies to Artemis and Hecate. But even Selena chooses virgin loneliness here. She sits and dreams of a lover who sleeps in her lap. For some reason, a real relationship with a man does not attract her.

Earthly Triad: Demeter - Persephone - Hecate

Hecate was usually associated with Persephone (Cora), not Demeter. Persephone shares the first part of her name with Pers, the titan, the father of Hecate. The second part of her name "- background" means "destroyer". Persephone accomplishes a destiny that is not spun by her, at least cutting her thread. This makes her similar to the arrows Apollo and Artemis. Apollo Hecate ("Far-Striking") was revered.

The earthly triad presents Hecate as a "vulnerable" goddess. They are relationship-oriented goddesses whose well-being depends on the relationships that matter to them. They reflect women's need for belonging and affection. Their focus is on others, not on an external goal or an internal state. It is this Hecate who is able to turn a favorable gaze to the petitioners of love, luck and wealth. It is in the myth of Demeter and the abducted Persephone that Hecate helps other deities. The story of a kidnapped, dishonored and raped girl touches her heart like no other in Greek mythology.

Names and functions

Hecate Chthonia

Few of the Olympian gods had the epithet "Underground". It was Zeus, Demeter and Gaia, the only one of the Olympians who had a move to Hades - Hermes and, of course, Hecate. It was Hecate Chthonia. It was she who caused nightmares and madness, and so terrified that many ancients called her only "Nameless". Death is also called so.

Hecate Urania

Little is already known about this image of the goddess. However, this is an echo of those times when Hecate was both Chthonia and Urania, the goddess of heaven and underground.
Mother of witchcraft

In this hypostasis, Hecate has survived to this day. Shakespeare referred to her as the inspiration for all the witches in Macbeth. Modern ignoramuses perceive her, too, for the most part as the patroness of dark witchcraft (not black magic, but all night activities).

Hecate Propylaea

Hecate Protector of the young and defenseless, so famous in ancient times, later became the attorney of offended girls and women, seeking to regain their female happiness and for this resorting to charms. In the Aeneid (Book 4), before stabbing herself with a dagger, Hecate's beloved, thrown by Aeneas, turns to Hecate, invoking the goddess's revenge on all Trojans. Among the mystics at the turn of our era, Hecate reappeared and was revered as the keeper of the secrets and paths along which the elect walk.

Patroness of weddings and childbirth

Torches, according to some views, can be interpreted as a classic attribute of the goddess of childbirth. Likewise, Cassandra in Euripides' Troas appeals to Hecate about this. The dagger in the hands of Hecate is also associated with the instrument for cutting the baby's umbilical cord at the moment of birth.
Hecate - Enodia ("Road")

This is the main role of Hecate in the views of the mystics. Also, Hecate was Persephone's companion (guide?) To the Queen of the Underworld. Perhaps in this role Hecate was represented in the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the "Aeneid" (6th book), Hecate is the patroness and "teacher" of Sibylla Kumskaya, giving her the power to wander the roads of Tartarus.

Goddess of Limits

Hecate was the deity of rapids, crossroads and limits, all those places where "this and that", "ours and the other", "this worldly and otherworldly" meet. This goddess in many ancient mysteries was considered the guardian of the gates.

Habits

It was believed that Hecate roams the roads at night with a retinue of dogs and the souls of the dead. On her feet she has bronze sandals (leather, with bronze patches). In dogs, in the dark, the eyes glow with a red glow. Perhaps these are the shadows of the dogs sacrificed to Hecate (then there should be small fat-footed puppies with cut necks among them - I hope not). Live dogs also see Hecate - then they begin to whine and howl. And this is a sign that the goddess is near. Hecate was accompanied by the demon-spirits of Kera.

Attributes

"... the pernicious juice of midnight herbs, three times permeated with the curse of Hecate", in the words of Shakespeare, could be the juice of aconite. In the arsenal of the goddess's magical herbs, the wrestler flower or aconite is often mentioned, which has received loud but sad fame. Aconite plant is named from the ancient Greek city of Akone, near which this plant grew in abundance. In addition, near the city there was a cave leading, according to the Greeks, to hell. According to legend, aconite grew out of the saliva of the dog Cerberus. It is known that both the ground part of the plant and the smell of flowers itself are poisonous. Diluted aconite juice tamed sensual attraction, and may have been used in rituals.

Fir branches entwined with ivy were the sign of the goddess Hecate in Greece. With their help, people protected themselves from illnesses and witchcraft.

Of the animals with which Hecate was associated, dogs are usually mentioned. But there were also hares.

Honor and service

Belief in Hecate in classical Greece was considered more of a popular superstition. The statues of Hecate, displayed at the intersections, looked in three directions at once. And on the full moon, secret rituals were performed in her honor. Her sculptures with torches and swords were placed in front of houses to keep evil spirits at bay. In ancient times, people tried to appease the goddess by leaving the hearts of chickens and honey cakes in front of the doorstep. On the last day of the month, gifts were brought to the crossroads - honey, onions, fish and eggs, female lambs.

“To this we can add that Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, was one of the most revered goddesses by women. At Aristophanes, leaving his home, a woman prays to Hecate at the door. In addition, Aristophanes reports on the game of women in honor of Hecate. " (M. Nilsson. Greek folk religion.)

Caves were considered cult places of Hecate. Its ancient altars were circular, with different inscriptions on them.

Healing diseases

Hecate was addressed when the healing of the disease under the influence of the rituals of other gods did not occur. Usually it was about some kind of madness. If the rituals of any deity produced catharsis in the patient and contributed to some changes, then it was believed that the disease originated from this god. If there was no reaction to the ceremony, then the cause of the suffering was simply looked for elsewhere. So they tried Hecate's happiness. And the main "practicing healer" was Asclepius.

Witch cult

The sorcerers of late antiquity also gathered at the crossroads to pay homage to Hecate and her servants. One rather ominous address to her was recorded in the III century by the Alexandrian scholar Hippolytus in Philosophumena:

“Come, hellish, earthly and heavenly Bombo (Hecate), goddess of wide roads, crossroads, you, who travels here and there at night with a torch in hand, enemy of the day. Friend and beloved of darkness, you who rejoice when bitches howl and warm blood flows, you who wander among ghosts and graves, you who satisfy the thirst for blood, you who cause fear in the mortal souls of children, Gorgo, Mormo, Luna, in a thousand species, cast your merciful gaze upon our sacrifice. "

For divination, the Greeks used the so-called. "Hecate's Circle" is a golden ball with a sapphire inside. How it worked is not very clear.

The goddess of sorcery and mistress of ghosts Hecate the last three days of each month, which were considered unlucky.

The power of herbs

The power of ancient sorcerers was often associated with the knowledge of the power of herbs, fruits, roots and potions obtained from them. A quote from the lost tragedy "Sophocles" Rizotomoi has survived, in which he describes Medea's work:

Turning your eyes away from the work of your hand
She is a cloudy white juice that flows from wounds
Poisonous potion, in a copper vessel
Gently accepts ...
And in the innermost caskets are bundles
Her cut of herbs.
She laments loudly in the [night],
Nude, she cut her with a sickle with a copper.
(Translated by F.F. Zelinsky).
And here is Ovid in "Metamorphoses" (Book 7):
And the shrine of the trilik goddess,

The dark oak forest where her deity was revered,
The eternally all-seeing father of his baptized father-in-law,
He swears by his welfare and deeds by everyone.
The virgin believed - he immediately received magic herbs;
I learned how to apply them and returned home happy.
(Per S. Shervinsky)

The Roman poet Tibulus says that sorceresses have a special, only characteristic power:

She is the only one given the magic herbs
Medea, She is only given to pacify the fierce dogs Hecate.
And Medea demonstrates her power with the same Ovid:
Medea came out, alone, in a loose dress, barefoot,
Lush hair along the shoulders, loosening without a headdress.
By the wrong step, in the silent silence of the deep night,

He walks without guides. And people, and animals, and birds
They taste complete peace. The bush does not whisper, immovable;
The forest is silent foliage, foggy air is silent.
The stars twinkle alone. And she stretched out her hands to them,
Turned back three times, scooped up water in the stream

And she wet her hair and gave her lips three times
Howl; then, resting his knee on solid ground,
She said: “Night! Confidante of secrets that the golden moon
You follow the light of the day! You stars! Hecate with the head
Trinity, you, that you are descending to me as an accomplice

Help me! The art of magic and spells of magicians!
You, O Earth, that you give magicians the knowledge of the mighty herbs,
Air and winds and you, oh lakes and rivers and mountains,
All of you, gods of the forests, all gods of the night, appear!
By you, by my will, the rivers return to their sources

Surprisingly to the Bregs; with spells I pacify
A stormy sea wave and a stormless sea;
I call and drive the winds, I bring and bring the clouds;
I make the mouths of the snakes burst with the word of a spell;
Wild stones, oak trees rooted out of the soil,

I also move the woods; I command - the mountains tremble,
And the earth howls, and grave shadows come out.
By force I attract you, moon, even with Temessian copper *
I'm reducing the damage. From the spells of my chariot
Grandfather is paler; my poison makes Aurora go pale.

You dulled me and the flame of the bulls, with a curved plow
You wished to squeeze them, who did not know the load, with your neck;
You threw the serpentine into a fierce battle among yourselves,
The guards, who knew no sleep, were put to sleep - the fleece was golden,
They cunningly circled the snake and transported it to the harbors of the Greeks.

Now I need a composition that would make old age
Once again, refreshed, bloom and the youth would return.
You will not refuse me. The constellations sparkled not in vain,
And not in vain, the ridge drawn by winged dragons,
Here is the chariot flying. "

Petitions to the underground gods

In ancient times, there was a kind of practice. Lead tablets were compiled (lead is the metal of Saturn), buried in the ground or lowered into a burial, in which the "supplicant" turned to Hermes Underground and Hecate Underground with the intention of causing harm and damage to his enemy. For example: “I betray Ophelion and Canaris to Hermes Chthonic and conqueror Hermes. I curse Ophelion. ”Besides Hermes and Hecate, Gaia, Persephone and Hades were summoned to curse. Often there is a formula like: "As this lead is dry and soulless, so let the deeds of my enemy be dry and soulless."

Ovid in Metamorphoses (Book 7) fantasizes about the Medea rite of rejuvenating the elder Eson:

Medea folded two altars from turf,
On the right - Hecate's altar and the altar of Youth - on the left.
She braided both with wild foliage and sacred branches.
Throwing away the ground from the two pits,
Sacrament; Medea stabs the black-fleece sheep in the throat

The knife pours her blood over wide pits,
She poured a pure cup of wine over blood,
She took a copper bowl, poured fresh milk;
Meanwhile, words are pouring, - he calls the gods underground,
Praying to the lord of shadows with his wife kidnapped together,

So that they do not rush to take away the decrepit soul from the body.
Having won the mercy of both with a long prayer whisper,
She ordered the frail old man from the house to the outside
Carry out and, plunging him into sleep with an impenetrable spell,
As if a lifeless corpse was laid on a grassy mat.

So she ordered Jason and the servants to leave,
She commanded the uninitiated to divert their gaze from the secret.
And everything is deleted. Dissolving your hair, Medea
She walked around the two shining altars according to the rite of the Bacchantes.
In black blood, wetting split torches, holds

They are on both fires and the elder is purified
Three times with fire, and three times with water, and three times with sulfur.
In the copper cauldron, meanwhile, the mighty agent boils
And it rises up and turns white with swollen foam.
She brews and roots, found in the Hemonian share,

And seeds, and flowers, and bitter juices of plants;
He adds more stones from the outskirts of the East,
Clean sand washed at low tide by ocean water,
Here it adds dew, which is collected by the moon at night;
The filthy owl's wings are put in the same place with meat,

Werewolf guts, that wolf animal image
The kind changes the human; also put in the brew
And the Cynithian snake has scaly thin skin;
The liver of a male deer; dropped into the composition in addition
A head with a crooked beak of a century-old age is a crow.

Celebrations and Mysteries

The annual telete [dedication] of Hecate in Aegina was believed to have been founded by Orpheus himself. Its functions were believed to be "cathartic and disgusting" ... But the opinion that these rituals were specifically aimed at healing mania seems to be just a guess (see ER Dodds The Greeks and the Irrational).

It is believed that Hecate played a role in the game mysteries on the field in Agra. Dieter Lauenstein says that everything could have started with tearing and eating meat. Then there was redemption through Hecate. The goddess helped to overcome the open abyss of cruelty and lust. Then it is the turn of other gods and goddesses to help a person. Lauenstein (Eleusinian Mysteries. - M .: Enigma: 1996.) even offers a reconstruction of these mysteries.

Hecate played an important role in the Eleusinian Mysteries. It is believed (Dieter Lauenstein) that in the Eleusinian Mysteries there were no special priestesses of Persephone. Their role was played by the priestesses of Hecate, who in ordinary life were the wives (mothers or sisters) of the main priests. The sacraments themselves were supposed to extinguish the memories of ordinary, daily life. Therefore, Persephone and Hecate awakened "night consciousness" in people.

Let us recall that the only way to wander after death in the darkness of Hades was to be initiated into the mysteries and repeat the sacraments on our own.

As the Homeric hymn to Demeter says:
Happy are those of the earthly people who have seen the sacraments,
The one who is not involved in them will never be after death
To have a share of this kind in the multi-dark kingdom of the underground ...

Sacrifices were made to Hecate, among other deities, during the Athenian festival of Thesmophoria. And also at the war games that preceded the Eleusinian mysteries.

According to Nilsson, the Hecate All-Greek Festival was held on August 13-14. And the festival in Stratonica in Caria was called Hecatesia. Temples of Hecate have been found in Miletus, Argos, Eleusis, Aegina and Athens, and sculptures have been found throughout Greece.

The cult of Hecate among the Neoplatonists

It is clear that the intellectual could hardly find anything attractive in the popular cult of Hecate. No, philosophers and mystics saw in Hecate something more than just the patroness of all sorts of dark deeds.

It is known that they had their own theurgic rites. associated with Hecate. Theurgy is a kind of elite magic of the ancient world. “A syncretic form of magical art that took shape by the 1st century. AD, is strikingly different from the classical one. This is a complex professional discipline that requires special training, special literature, based on ancient (partly real, partly fictional) traditions. Within this form of magic, there is a hierarchy of procedures, at the highest level of which are magical sessions of contacts with the gods. " (A.V. Petrov.)

Theurgy: socio-cultural aspects of the emergence of philosophically interpreted magic in antiquity.)

Neoplatonists practicing theurgy often received signs from statues, including Hecate. Maximus, a disciple of Iamblichus, saw that Hecate was laughing, and the torches in her hands were lit. It is believed, however, that animating statues of Hecate was common in classical Greek magic.

Proclus, who lived in the 5th century AD, being a deep and feeble old man "saw with his own eyes the luminous ghosts of Hecate." He was taught this by the daughter of his teacher Plutarch - Asclepigenia, descended from the maternal line from the ancient Eleusinian priestly family. (This again refers us to the connection between the cult of Hecate and the Eleusinian Mysteries.)

The hymn of Proclus Diadochus to Hecate and Janus is known:

Rejoice, mother of many gods, with kind posterity!
Rejoice, you, O Hecate, the doorway, powerful force!
Rejoice, Ian the progenitor himself, indestructible Zeus!
Rejoice, Zeus on high! Oh grant me full good

Drive the bright path of life and evil ailments
Away from the body, and attract the soul to yourself, purifying
Mind with an awakening action from passionate earthly temptations!
Oh, I beg you, give me your hand, show me the path
Chosen of God to me, I wish that! Yes, see me

Precious light, let the birth of black evil be avoided!
Oh, I beg you, give me your hand, blow me with the wind
That in piety the harbor will bring him who suffered much.
Rejoice, mother of many gods, with kind posterity!
Rejoice, O Pre-door Hecate, powerful force!

Rejoice, Ian the progenitor himself, O highest Zeus!
(Translation by O. V. Smyka)

The Roman emperor Julian the Sun worshiper was initiated into the private mysteries of Hecate. He was dedicated at the age of nineteen or twenty by the philosopher Maxim of Ephesus.

Analogs of Hecuba

Hecuba in Greek mythology is the wife of the Trojan king Priam. Her father was considered the Phrygian king Dimantus or a certain Kisseus (an eponym of the Thracian city of Kissos). Who her mother was was unknown even in antiquity. In the Iliad, Hecuba is the mother of nineteen sons. At least she is definitely the mother of the famous Hector, Paris, Helen, Deiphobus, Troilus (from Apollo), Polydorus and the daughters of Cassandra and Polyxena. Hecuba is best known for her grief over her murdered son - the hero Hector, the captured daughter of Cassandra, and the daughter-in-law Andromache, sacrificed to her daughter Polyxena.

Hecuba took revenge on the ruler of the Thracian Chersonesos Polymester for the insidiously murdered son of Hecuba, Polydor. (When Polymestor learned about the death of Troy, he killed the young man.) She killed all his children and blinded the king himself. Hecuba was stoned by the inhabitants of the city. Two versions speak about her further fate. She was transferred by Apollo to Lycia, where the famous sanctuary of Hecate of Asia Minor was. Or turned into a dog and threw herself into the Hellespont, and we remember that the dog is Hecate's animal. Also, the Cape of Kinossema ("dog mound") in the Hellespont, which was considered the tomb of Hecubus, was also called the monument of Hecate.